Recovering from Religious Repression – The Journey to Freedom

Freedom is a very strong value for most people, but freedom can be misleading in many ways. You may appear to be free on the outside, especially if you “come and go” as you please, but if you are repressed by any type of controlling organization, no matter how well-meaning, you may be living in a virtual prison with invisible bars.

Although this article is written for anyone experiencing religious repression, it is not intended to point fingers or judge spiritual beliefs. Rather, the intention is to identify the serious repercussions of repression, while also enlightening a path to freedom. The first step is recognizing the dynamics of organizational repression and how it seamlessly operates through a system of disempowerment.

Repercussions of Repression

No doubt, many religious organizations use various forms of repression in order to control church members so that they obey religious doctrine, but the irony is that repression does not stop people from indulging in “sinful behavior” and, in fact, it often results in the exact opposite. Statistics and direct experience clearly demonstrate that the more rules and consequences a society has, the more “illicit behavior” develops. Although this applies to any religion where repression is pervasive, and we are not just talking about any one religion, the statistics found in Utah, USA exemplifies the cost of religious repression.